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The Falcon and the Snowman

The Falcon and the Snowman

Thriller · Drama · Crime · 1985

The true story of a disillusioned military contractor employee and his drug pusher childhood friend who became walk-in spies for the Soviet Union.

Movie details

The Falcon and the Snowman

“They came from the best of families. And they committed the worst of crimes.”

1985 Thriller · Drama · Crime 2h 12m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

The true story of a disillusioned military contractor employee and his drug pusher childhood friend who became walk-in spies for the Soviet Union.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Falcon and the Snowman?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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During the Cold War, the Soviet Union captures U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers after shooting down his U-2 spy plane. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Powers' only hope is New York lawyer James Donovan, recruited by a CIA operative to negotiate his release. Donovan boards a plane to Berlin, hoping to win the young man's freedom through a prisoner exchange. If all goes well, the Russians would get Rudolf Abel, the convicted spy who Donovan defended in court.

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The Courier

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The Deadly Affair

The Deadly Affair

Thriller · 1967

Charles Dobbs is a British secret agent investigating the apparent suicide of Foreign Office official Samuel Fennan. Dobbs suspects that Fennan's wife, Elsa, a survivor of a Nazi Germany extermination camp, might have some clues, but other officials want Dobbs to drop the case. So Dobbs hires a retiring inspector, Mendel, to quietly make inquiries. Dobbs isn't at all sure as there are a number of anomalies that simply can't be explained away. Dobbs is also having trouble at home with his errant wife, whom he very much loves, having frequent affairs. He's also pleased to see an old friend, Dieter Frey, who he recruited after the war. With the assistance of a colleague and a retired policeman, Dobbs tries to piece together just who is the spy and who in fact assassinated Fennan.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Schlesinger

Written by

Steven Zaillian

Timothy Hutton

Timothy Hutton

Christopher Boyce

Sean Penn

Sean Penn

Daulton Lee

Pat Hingle

Pat Hingle

Mr. Charlie Boyce

Joyce Van Patten

Joyce Van Patten

Mrs. Boyce

Art Camacho

Art Camacho

Boyce Child

Richard Dysart

Richard Dysart

Dr. Lee

Priscilla Pointer

Priscilla Pointer

Mrs. Lee

Court is in session

Put The Falcon and the Snowman on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.